R. Michel

Prevention of combat-related infections: antimicrobial therapy in battlefield and barrier measures in French military medical treatment facilities.

Infection is a major complication associated with combat-related injuries. Beside immobilization, wound irrigation, surgical debridement and delayed coverage, post-injury antimicrobials contribute to reduce combat-related infections, particularly those caused by bacteria of the early contamination flora. In modern warfare, bacteria involved in combat-related infections are mainly Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the late contamination flora. These bacteria are frequently resistant or multiresistant to antibiotics and spread through the deployed chain of care. This article exposes the principles of war wounds antimicrobial prophylaxis recommended in the French Armed Forces and highlights the need for high compliance to hygiene standard precautions, adapted contact precautions and judicious use of antibiotics in French deployed military medical treatment facilities (MTF).

Malaria control strategies in French armed forces.

Each year, 40,000 French soldiers deploy or travel through malaria-endemic areas. Despite the effective control measures that were successively implemented, malaria remains a public health concern in French armed forces with several important outbreaks and one lethal case every two years. This article describes the malaria control strategy in French armed forces which is based on three combined strategies: i) Anopheles vector control to prevent infection with the implementation of personal protection against vectors (PPAV) adapted to the field living conditions of the troops. ii) Chemoprophylaxis (CP) to prevent the disease based on prescription of effective and well tolerated doxycycline. iii) Management of cases through early diagnosis and appropriate treatment to prevent death. In isolated conditions in endemic areas, rapid diagnosis tests (RDT) are used as first-line tests by military doctors. Treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) malaria is based either on the piperaquine tetraphosphate-dihydroartemisinin association since 2013, or on the atovaquone-proguanil association. First-line treatment of severe P. falciparum malaria is based on IV artesunate. These measures are associated with constant education of the military, epidemiological surveillance of malaria cases and monitoring of parasite chemosensitivity.

Prevention of infectious diseases during military deployments: a review of the French armed forces strategy.

Military personnel in operations have always paid a high toll to infections. In the 21st century some of these diseases still cause outbreaks with significant morbidity and impact on deployments. The new configuration of the French Armed Forces requires the permanent preparedness of deployable units. During deployments, soldiers are at least exposed to the infectious diseases that are observed in travellers, but with a potentially severe impact for the combatting strengths and a risk for cancelation or failure of the operational durability. The most common disabling infections during military deployments are faeco-oral transmitted diseases including diarrhoea. Preventing infectious diseases during deployments is of great concern and the French medical service has established a strategy based on different components; risk assessment and preparation, immunizations, protective measures and chemoprophylaxis, health education, health surveillance, outbreak investigations and medical tracking. In this review, the authors present the context of deployment of the French Armed Forces, the main health risks they are exposed to and develop the key points of the force health protection strategy, focused on infections related to military deployments.

Monitoring of returnees from Ebola-affected areas: lessons learned based on the experience of French armed forces deployed in Guinea, 2015

IntroductionnDuring the 2014-15 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa, French armed forces were involved in the treatment and management of Ebola patients in Guinea. The constant flow of military personnel returning from their deployment posed a risk of secondary dissemination of the Ebola virus. Our objective was to describe the follow-up of returning service members that was implemented to prevent this risk of dissemination in France.nnnMethodnFor the French military, a specific complementary follow-up was added to the national monitoring to take into account the need for a detailed record for follow-up of returning military personnel and to keep the military chain of command informed.nnnResultsnAll the 410 service members deployed in Guinea underwent monitoring among whom 22 were suspected of EVD. Three of them were considered as possible EVD cases but none of them was tested positive for EVD.nnnConclusionnThe monitoring organized for French service members deployed in Guinea made it possible to follow all exposed military personnel after their return, know their health status on a near real-time basis and be aware of all alerts. To reach this goal the collaboration with French national health agencies was necessary and should be improved in the future.

Treatment for Uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum Malaria in French Soldiers Deployed in Sub-Saharan Africa: Gaps Between Policy and Field Practice

BackgroundnMalaria prevention and treatment are big challenges for the French forces deployed in sub-Saharan Africa. Since December 2013, 1,800 French soldiers have been deployed at any one time in the Central African Republic in the framework of Operation Sangaris and European Union Force (EUFOR). Over the 2014-2015 period, about 500 cases of malaria were notified in these troops during the operation or after their return (annual incidence: 13.4 p.100 person-year). The recommendation to use dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA-PQ) as the first-line treatment for French soldiers suffering from uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in endemic areas is not always followed in practice in the field by French military general practitioners (GPs).nnnMethodsnWe conduced a retrospective Knowledge-Attitude-Practice study by self-administered questionnaire, to all military French doctors who were in mission in Central African Republic from January 2014 to July 2015 to try to understand what were the reasons for the GP not to prescribe DHA-PQ on the field.nnnFindingsnThirty-six GPs (53%) answered to the questionnaire. Eighty-three percent of them knew about the recommendation to use DHA-PQ for un uncomplicated Pf malaria. Fifty-eight percent had a favorable attitude toward DHA-PQ. The factors associated with the prescription of another drug (Atovaquone-proguanil) were: the habit (odds ratio [OR] 0.1, confidence interval (CI) 0-0.6], the fact that Atovaquone-proguanil is more practical to use [OR 0.01, CI 0-0.1]. In practice, only 37.5% prescribed DHA-PQ the most of the time during their mission. Factors associated with a non-favorable attitude toward DHA-PQ were: the necessity to calculate a QTc interval during the treatment [OR 0.2, confidence interval 0-0.9], and the fact that DHA-PQ must be taken on an empty stomach [OR 0.3, CI 0.1-0.8]. GP who received a formation before their mission about malaria and treatment had a favorable attitude toward DHA-PQ.nnnDiscussionnThere is very satisfactory knowledge by the military GPs stationed in the Central African Republic on both the recommendations and prescription of antimalarial drugs. The present study highlights some difficulties in implementing the recommendations in an operational context, notably factors limiting the prescription of DHA-PQ during military deployment (need for ECG monitoring, empty stomach, and lack of habit). Proposals can be made to improve the efficacy, tolerance, and practicability of malaria treatment in the field. The main focus should be a more flexible application of the French DHA-PQ risk management plan in the field, specific training and communication about DHA-PQ use, the generalization of ECG printing equipment in the field, and the switch from DHA-PQ to an alternative artemisinin-based combination therapy during deployments in malaria-endemic areas.

Do alcohol-based hand rubs reduce the incidence of acute diarrhea during military deployments ? A prospective randomized trial

BACKGROUNDnAcute diarrhea remains a public health concern in armed forces deployed in tropical areas where access to water and soap is limited. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of alcohol-based hand rubs (ABHR) on incidence of diarrhea in poor hygiene conditions.nnnMETHODnA prospective randomized trial was conducted between November 2014 and January 2015 among French military troops deployed in Africa to compare a group of soldiers receiving usual hand hygiene recommendations (control group), to a group of soldiers who received ABHR in addition to usual hand hygiene recommendations (intervention group). Data on diarrhea and hygiene behaviors were collected using self-questionnaires. The incidence rate of diarrhea episodes in groups was compared.nnnRESULTSnParticipation rate was 59% (236/400). The proportion of individuals who used ABHR was 97% in the intervention group and 62% in the control group. The overall incidence rate of diarrheal episodes was observed to be in the region of 60 per 100 persons-month without any significant difference between groups after adjustment on confounding factors (pxa0=xa00.93). Handwashing with soap was used on average 4 times a day in the control group and twice a day in the intervention group (pxa0=xa00.93). It was the only significant protective factor for diarrhea (pxa0<xa010-3).nnnCONCLUSIONnOur results support that supplying soap and good quality water should be a priority on the field.

Acute acoustic trauma in the French armed forces during 2007–2014

Context: Despite existing preventive measures, the number of acute acoustic trauma (AAT) cases reported to the French Military Epidemiological Surveillance System (MESS) remains high. Aims: The objective of this study was to describe AAT and the preventive measures already implemented. Subjects and Methods: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional analysis of AAT using data from the MESS for the period 2007–2014. In addition, we reviewed the current prevention measures that exist in the French armed forces. Statistical Analysis Used: Comparisons between different incidence rates were made by Poisson and quasi-Poisson regression. Results: Between 2007 and 2014, 10,487 AAT cases were reported to the MESS, with a significant decrease in 2013 (P < 0.001). AAT incidence rates were the highest among those aged <25 years − 14.3 per 1000 person-years (PYs) (P < 0.001), and those in the army; with 8.1 per 1000 PYs (P < 0.001), and men had almost twice the risk of women (P < 0.001). AAT mainly occurred in training schools or at camps during exercises. The main prevention actions identified were the following: official regulations, education, making hearing protection devices (HPDs) available for all service members, and regular hearing monitoring. A working group has been set up and has proposed an informative chapter in the weapon handling instruction book, an AAT simulator, and a new HPD, the 3M® earplug, with an information brochure. Conclusions: AAT rates decreased from 2007 to 2014 in the French armed forces. Further analysis is needed to identify the underlying factors involved to improve the prevention actions proposed. The MESS and targeted surveys will assess the impact of the different prevention measures implemented.